Abstract:
So what's hot? Everything, Heller Ehrman LLP's co-chair of energy and cleantech, Alison Freeman-Gleason, told The Deal's Claire Poole in June. More specifically, biofuels made from biowaste, solar projects and renewable portfolio standards, or the requirement on energy companies to generate a certain percentage of power with renewable sources, while those that have tanked or are on their way, she says, include hydrogen and overly hyped ethanol, which won't necessarily solve all the problems it portends to. And what's ahead, she says, is the emergence of more clean coal technologies. In April, The Deal's Stacey Higginbotham gives a rundown of the well-funded startups and their lofty expectations:

* Wind farm operator Airtricity Holdings Ltd. has raised $678 million and plans to generate 6,000 megawatts of electricity using wind in the U.S. and Canada. Cilion Inc. plans to produce 440 million gallons of corn-based ethanol by 2008 and has powered up with $200 million. Altra Inc. is another ethanol project. It's collected $170 million. Seven others make her list including on-site power generation systems developer Bloom Energy and thin-film solar panel maker Nanosolar Inc. * Another recent round of note is electric car maker Tesla, which took $45 million in fourth round venture funding to fuel production of its high-performance roadster expected to ship by the end of 2007.